SAN JOSE – The original decision to push Drew Remenda out the door back in June may not have made much sense – and won’t unless the Sharks decide to explain their reasons — but the team made the sensible (and safe) follow-up moves Wednesday.

Bringing in someone from the outside was the high-risk option (think Marty McSorley in 2006) and probably never really under serious consideration. By sticking in-house, the Sharks reward two of their own voices who also have developed their own following in the fan base.

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The working story for online and print is available here if you haven’t found it already.

No one should feel too badly for Remenda at this point. As the story notes, he is in line for a similar TV job covering the Edmonton Oilers for Sportsnet – the big cheese in Canadian hockey coverage going forward. The Oilers haven’t been playoff contenders for a while, of course, but the team still has a devoted following, he stays closer to his family in Saskatoon, and frankly, a fresh start where you aren’t dealing with years of perceived grievances is probably a good thing for anybody.

As that story also notes, Baker is well aware of the circumstances as he moves into his new job. Here’s the expanded version of what he said:

“I look at it that Drew was great at what he does and very, very popular,” Baker said. “You’re not going to be able to replace Drew. It’s like when a top player gets injured – you can’t replace somebody when they’re at the top of their craft.

“The challenge,” Baker added, “is for me is to provide top-notch analysis, make it entertaining, make it educational, make it informative and that’s it. I won’t get caught up in who I’m replacing.”

Baker didn’t sound worried about any criticism that may be directed his way from those who may think there’s a drop-off in the quality of the TV broadcast.

“I played for Toronto, I played for Ottawa, I played for the Quebec Nordiques so as far as media scrutiny goes, that’s not really the challenge,” he said. “The challenge is for me to work with Randy and the Comcast team and put on a good show every night.”

More than anything, Baker said, “I bleed teal and I’m excited to be a broadcaster for the Sharks.”

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Baker also talked about how he’ll miss working in the radio booth with Dan Rusanowsky, a fellow alum from St. Lawrence. And he made it a point to say that the two would continue to work together on social media and at public events – two areas where Remenda’s absence may not have played well with his bosses.

“I see a broadcast team in San Jose as more than just our game-night jobs,” Baker said, adding later that he was excited to be part of a broadcast team that includes Hahn and Hedican, “a guy that’s won a Stanley Cup and seeps with what a professional is all about.”

*****It doesn’t look as if the 6.0 earthquake that hit Napa will keep the Stanley Cup from it’s appointed rounds.

As noted here earlier, Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi decided to bring the cup to his adopted home, a horse ranch he and his wife Wandamae have had for years in Sonoma County. In 2012, Lombardi spent his personal time with the cup in his hometown of Ludlow, Ma., but this year he opted for Northern California.

The first stop this weekend for public viewing is from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Napa Westin, and though the hotel has been closed since the quake hit Sunday, things are expected to be back to normal by then. The appearance is going on as planned, according to Phil Pritchard, the cup’s well-recognized escort from the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“The event will hopefully raise some much needed fund,” he said in an email exchange.

The second event – a 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. viewing at Snoopy’s Home Ice Arena in Santa Rosa – is in an area that didn’t suffer any damage from the shaking.

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

I like Drew. I wish he was still here. That said, I will not compare Bakes and Drew. In fact, it’s possible that Bakes will be better in the long run. Bakes was a player. Drew was a coach. Different ways to look at the game.

IMO, when Bakes filled in for Drew, I never thought there was drop off. That will be my only comparison…and it really isn’t anyway. It’s a comment on what others are already preconceiving…

Scott

I’m glad they stayed in house. I think Baker will do very well. Hedican will do good, and Brown will be really good too.

LTNC

My sacrilege is to wish the whole radio crew had turned over and not just the color man. I think Rusanowsky mails in the play by play, when he bothers at all.

LTNC

My sacrilege is to wish the whole radio crew had turned over and not just the color man. I think Rusanowsky mails in the play by play, when he bothers at all.

LTNC

My sacrilege is to wish the whole radio crew had turned over and not just the color man. I think Rusanowsky mails in the play by play, when he bothers at all.

Teejay

Although I liked Drew very much, I don’t have any particular problem with Baker filling that void. I do hope that if Curtis Brown gets an expanded role that he gets a haircut and washes his hair. I sometimes think that he and Ricci were in a race to see who could look the worst.

Tracy Tim

Congratulations Jamie! I look forward to your great insight!

Tracy Tim

Congratulations Jamie! I look forward to your great insight!

Stuart Palmer

Thank heavens we get Bakes not Hedi for TV. Jamie contributes honest, insightful, and original analysis.

Lownote

I guess they don’t remember the Marty McSorely year. I do because IT SUCKED! Love me some Bakes but this will be another failure…

Lownote

I guess they don’t remember the Marty McSorely year. I do because IT SUCKED! Love me some Bakes but this will be another failure…

Lownote

Two words… Marty McSorely.
Players do not automatically make for good color guys… as much as folks think experience as a player helps them. It doesn’t.

Db

Another moronic move by the powers that be. I’m thinking they want the ratings to tank so that they can re-negotiate the tv deal. Bakes was a great player, but he lacks the mental horsepower to be a good color commentator – certainly not the one following Drew.

BarryEisenberg

They won’t have a top-notch tv crew until Hahn is gone.

GP_hockeyhappens

No one said players “automatically” make for a good color analyst. Wasn’t even implied.

Wilma Mermelstein

What do you think Jamie was doing for 9 years – Color commentary. I do not see much difference between doing color on the TV or the radio.

Jamie will be fine. Brown has improved but right now, he’s not great.

John Miatech

Wow! Thanks Dean Lombardi for bringing the Cup to Snoopy’s in Santa Rosa….too bad Mr. Schultz isn’t there to enjoy it in person, but I bet his spirit is mighty proud….just too bad it isn’t because of a Sharks cup….

Clemenza

He’s only regarded across the league as one of the best. Ever read other teams’ blogs after games? If other markets’ fans have to watch the SJ feed for whatever reason, the feedback on Hahn’s work is overwhelmingly positive.
Edit: & they didn’t tap him (& drew) to do a NHL video game series because he sucks…

Buddy Elf

“Social media and at public events – two areas where Remenda’s absence may not have played well with his bosses.”

DP… is this just a hunch, or is this based on some knowledge you have gathered since the firing? It makes a lot more sense.

Buddy Elf

Yah… 100% agree… Brown did better last year than he did the year before.

Buddy Elf

They also don’t automatically make for bad color guys.

Alex

Randy Hanh is one of the best play-by-play TV guys in the league. This is my opinion.

Tom (fm Quinzee)

I want Phil Pritchard’s job. I’ll buy my own white gloves…

Tom (fm Quinzee)

Actually, Jamie was able to say a lot of things on radio that he couldn’t say on tv and keep the gig. There were times when Jamie was brutally honest. The one that most sticks in my mind was after Raffi crushed Michalek in 2006, actually, after the Oilers eliminated the Sharks. Jamie went off about why Doug Murray & Scott Parker were healthy scratches and the Oilers simply out-muscled the Sharks — all the way to the Finals, in which Hedi got the ring we hear about forever. But back on-topic, Jamie went off about the coaching decisions in that series, and pulled no punches about it, live, no retractions possible.

Tom (fm Quinzee)

I do believe you don’t like St. Lawrence guys? My main problem w/ Rusanowsky is his nasal-toned tenor. Since I’ve got to catch a lot of the live action via radio, I hear him a lot. The voice grates a bit. He is at least accurate about what’s transpiring on-ice. I reference the legendary Johnny Most as the poster-boy for homerific fiction in play-by-play. You could capitalize “Homerific,” too. Or I could.

Tom (fm Quinzee)

I do believe you don’t like St. Lawrence guys? My main problem w/ Rusanowsky is his nasal-toned tenor. Since I’ve got to catch a lot of the live action via radio, I hear him a lot. The voice grates a bit. He is at least accurate about what’s transpiring on-ice. I reference the legendary Johnny Most as the poster-boy for homerific fiction in play-by-play. You could capitalize “Homerific,” too. Or I could.

Tom (fm Quinzee)

I do believe you don’t like St. Lawrence guys? My main problem w/ Rusanowsky is his nasal-toned tenor. Since I’ve got to catch a lot of the live action via radio, I hear him a lot. The voice grates a bit. He is at least accurate about what’s transpiring on-ice. I reference the legendary Johnny Most as the poster-boy for homerific fiction in play-by-play. You could capitalize “Homerific,” too. Or I could.

GP_hockeyhappens

In SJ there was handful of people that understood what happened and actually said something about RWs decisions. When RW was in To, a couple million had their say. LOL.

Finish this sentence:

“RW was in To so long because…..”

I didn’t hear Bakes account of that. But I can see/hear him going off. That was also a raw/newer radio color guy. Now, he’s had some seasoning and experience. I think he’d find a more tame method of expression.

Tom (fm Quinzee)

While I agree w/ GP about Hedi’s command of English (too many undetected concussions? – that’s not a joke, btw, I never joke about that, or almost never), I don’t agree w/ you as you imply Hedican lacks integrity. Hedi at times would bang heads w/ Drew and/or Bakes in the post-game, and not because he was shading things in teal for the Sharks, but the opposite.

GP_hockeyhappens

I agree. We are actually seeing this happen in other areas of the media too, not just sports. Management has the mindset, right or wrong, that you need to engage with the audience (customers). If you don’t, you’re out.

I think by his own account, DP waded slowly into this in his job. 1st by engaging with WTC, then eventually with Twitter. Without these, I suspect someone else’s face would be in the header of WTC.

Tom (fm Quinzee)

My take on Bakes, and I’ve said this before is that he can be brutally honest, but that’s radio. Not so much pressure to sell the product, which means to cast it in a positive light.

I can’t say for sure, but I may have listened to the radio-cast more than anyone on the blog, as I generally have it on at work or in my car. That’s going back to at least 2003, or whenever they were on KLIV-AM.

That said, when things have gone poorly for the Sharks, during prolonged slumps, Bakes goes into a “sell-the-product” mode as that IS his job. But overall, I think he’s one of the more honest analysts I’ve heard in any sport, anywhere (I’ve lived in a number of different “markets”).

I think Hedi’s pretty good, though he is, how to put it?, grammatically impaired? Doesn’t bother me so long as he’s not hockey impaired.

Tom (fm Quinzee)

My take on Bakes, and I’ve said this before is that he can be brutally honest, but that’s radio. Not so much pressure to sell the product, which means to cast it in a positive light.

I can’t say for sure, but I may have listened to the radio-cast more than anyone on the blog, as I generally have it on at work or in my car. That’s going back to at least 2003, or whenever they were on KLIV-AM.

That said, when things have gone poorly for the Sharks, during prolonged slumps, Bakes goes into a “sell-the-product” mode as that IS his job. But overall, I think he’s one of the more honest analysts I’ve heard in any sport, anywhere (I’ve lived in a number of different “markets”).

I think Hedi’s pretty good, though he is, how to put it?, grammatically impaired? Doesn’t bother me so long as he’s not hockey impaired.

I didn’t think McSorely was necessarily bad. Its just that he did not gel with Randy. Marty seemed to get irritated when Randy would try friendly banter.

I knew it wouldn’t work when in one of their first broadcasts, Randy dropped a “partner” on McSorely and he just let it sit on the floor without reciprocation. No chemistry.

Marty did have a different perspective and had some interesting things to contribute. I could see McSorely working out with a different play-man, but probably not a broadcast team I would enjoy listening to.

n2y2

I didn’t think McSorely was necessarily bad. Its just that he did not gel with Randy. Marty seemed to get irritated when Randy would try friendly banter.

I knew it wouldn’t work when in one of their first broadcasts, Randy dropped a “partner” on McSorely and he just let it sit on the floor without reciprocation. No chemistry.

Marty did have a different perspective and had some interesting things to contribute. I could see McSorely working out with a different play-man, but probably not a broadcast team I would enjoy listening to.

Buddy Elf

Of course, it can’t be that… it MUST be because he said tough things about the Sharks after the loss, because that’s a much more simple and dramatic talking point for those simpletons who can’t consider any other possibilities, even when Drew said he saw the decision coming before the playoffs started.

Buddy Elf

Of course, it can’t be that… it MUST be because he said tough things about the Sharks after the loss, because that’s a much more simple and dramatic talking point for those simpletons who can’t consider any other possibilities, even when Drew said he saw the decision coming before the playoffs started.

Buddy Elf

Many, many, many others share this same opinion.

Tom (fm Quinzee)

Do they have a logo on them? Genuine NHL equipment?

Tom (fm Quinzee)

Agree w/ you there, GP. What I remember about Bakes’ rant went something like:

“Why didn’t he dress Murray and Parker? What do we have these guys here for if it isn’t to…” and he stopped, got into how, after Raffi took out Michalek, the Sharks didn’t respond at all.

I’ve often felt that a lot of DW’s moves after that were because of that…bringing in Roenick, Claude lePew, other “gritty” guys. Geez, talk about history repeating…that was also when Drew got canned and McSorely was brought in…I’ve got it!!! DW’s strategy for winning a Cup is to toughen up the broadcast booth!!! Wow. What a revelation!

Okay, I’m done laughing, even if nobody cares.

Topcatone

Drew lands as color for Oilers TV…good for him, and good for family.

Luiz Bonfa

Glad for Drew and glad for the Oilers.

Luiz Bonfa

Glad for Drew and glad for the Oilers.

Luiz Bonfa

Glad for Drew and glad for the Oilers.

Z.SharkRA

Excellent moves!!! Love the Bakes.

GP_hockeyhappens

Actually, Drew chose to go to HNIC. He would be traveling less and his family could live in Canada.

Tom (fm Quinzee)

Awww…I had a great conspiracy theory, or something, and you had to bring in facts to ruin it.

GP_hockeyhappens

“DW’s moves after…”

And exactly why everyone needs to understand that John Scott should never be compared to any forward in the NHL that is expected to provide offense, let alone #99.

GP_hockeyhappens

Still interested in the theory though. I know a Tom Clancy book is fiction. I’ll still read it.